Couple charged with giving infant methadone

Couple charged with giving infant methadone

SEATTLE — An Auburn couple was been charged with second-degree assault of a child after they reportedly gave their 6-week-old son methadone and the boy suffered a “near fatal overdose,” according to court documents. The couple also did not seek medical attention for him and court documents state the couple feared their young son would be taken away from them, and that was the reason they did not immediately seek medical aid.

The charges were filed on Sept. 23, and prosecutors also requested that the parent are not allowed to see the boy.

The boy was taken to Seattle Children’s Hospital Sept. 14 and police were called when doctors determined he had 150 times more methadone in his system than if he had ingested methadone via breastfeeding. The infant also tested positive for having ingested alcohol at some point.

The mother admitted that she put methadone in her son’s milk because she thought he was having withdrawals and the father said he inadvertently gave the milk to the baby while the mother was at the store.

While the mother was at the store the baby reportedly suffered breathing problems, but the father did not call 911. When she returned, the mother called a friend rather than an ambulance and only after the friend agreed the baby did not “look good” did she drive him to the hospital.

The couple will be arraigned Oct. 7. Bail has been set at $200,000 for each of them. The mother has a previous record that includes domestic violence and malicious mischief; the father does not have a prior record.